Israel’s attorney general on Thursday ordered election candidates to stop using images of soldiers in their campaigns, after a complaint against Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s party. “It is forbidden during the 90 days ahead of the elections to use the army for propaganda purposes, notably pictures of soldiers with the prime minister,” he said in a justice ministry statement. The announcement came after a complaint by the opposition Labor party against ...

Afghan forces have killed two Iranian members of the Taliban in northern Faryab province, local army said Tuesday. The militants were identified as Ahmad and Jundullah, according to 1Tv News. The site added that they were among 29 militants who were killed during clashes, airstrikes, and supplying forces convoy on highway between Shirin Tagab and Khwaja Sabz Posh districts. Analysis: Iran’s game plan in Afghanistan The deaths include also two local Taliban commanders Nasratullah and Sadi ...

Every military commander knows that battles are won and lost long before operations actually begin: the force with the highest level of training and readiness often prevails. Yet commanders and planners in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) frequently do not have a clear understanding of the readiness of their forces. They strive to maintain extremely high levels, under the logic that more is better, leading to standards that are often unrealistic and unsustainable. At best, this leads to ...

The northern Lebanese town Miniyeh witnessed a horrific crime, after the murder of the woman who was forced by an army officer to kiss his wife’s foot following a quarrel between them. The story made rounds on social media two weeks ago, and caused outrage in the country. Najwa Seif was then arrested and placed under investigation by police. When she was released after a few days, and after the embarrassing incident, Najwa appeared as a guest on a TV show, but in a shocking turn of events, ...

Armed forces and observers from eight Arab countries are converging on Egypt for exercises starting on Saturday, the Egyptian military said on Wednesday. In a statement on his Facebook page, the Egyptian military spokesman said that air, ground, naval and special forces from the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain and Jordan have begun arriving in Egypt for the exercises called “The Shield of the Arabs 1”, due to be held from Nov. 3-16. Observers from Lebanon and ...

Israeli Defense Minister Avigdor Lieberman announced Friday he has selected Aviv Kochavi, a former military intelligence head, as the army’s new chief of staff. Kochavi, who has served as deputy chief of staff since 2017, was picked after “consultations with dozens of people” including former premiers, Lieberman’s office said. Kochavi would take up the post at the start of 2019, succeeding General Gadi Eisenkot whose term ends this year. The appointment must first be ...

Analysts have seen major changes brought about by Iran’s Supreme Leader Ali Khamenei in recent months in the ranks of the army and Revolutionary Guards commanders as a sign of a possible and impending military strike against Iran. Iranwire website quoted analysts as saying that the changes were part of the preparations for war and coincided with Iran’s announcement of the production of a homemade fighter jet, which boomeranged on Tehran after it turned out to be a failed copy of a US ...

Waed Tamimi, the brother of the Palestinian teenager Ahed Tamimi who became a symbol of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict after slapping two soldiers has been sentenced to jail for throwing stones at a police officer, the army said Tuesday. Waed Tamimi, confessed to his role in a March 2017 “violent riot” in which an Israeli police officer was wounded by stones thrown by Palestinians at his vehicle, according to a military court ruling from Monday. Since he had already received a ...

Israel’s military said on Tuesday it would launch a criminal investigation into two incidents in which its troops shot and killed Palestinian teenagers taking part in protests along the Gaza border.The inquiry into the deaths of Abed Nabi, 18, on March 30, and 15-year-old Othman Helles on July 13, was the first announced by the military into its use of lethal force in the border demonstrations that began five months ago.At least 170 Palestinians have been killed by Israeli soldiers during ...

Israel’s military chief is pleading to keep politics out of the army amid protests by the Druze minority against a recent bill to enshrine the state’s Jewish character. Lt. Gen. Gadi Eisenkot has called on “all commanders and soldiers to keep controversial political issues” out of the military. In a statement Wednesday, he reaffirmed “our shared mission and camaraderie” with the Druze, an Arabic-speaking minority that serves in the military. Like other ...